Withdraw Russian military, equipment, create security zone around plant: IAEA publishes report on results of mission to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

The report consists of 52 pages with text and photographs and is called Nuclear Safety Measures in Ukraine. 

The report says there is an "urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident that could result from military action." The IAEA also recommends that all parties reach an agreement on the creation of a protective zone around the nuclear power plant to avoid damage. The IAEA is ready to immediately start consultations that will lead to the "urgent creation of a nuclear safety zone."

The agency also stated that shelling of the station and its surroundings must be stopped to maintain the physical integrity of the nuclear power plant. So, for example, the recorded consequences of shelling on:

- one oil tank for lubricating turbines;

- roofs of various buildings, in particular buildings for transport that transports spent nuclear fuel;

- special building where fresh nuclear fuel and nuclear waste storage are located;

- new educational building;

- buildings where the central monitoring point of the physical protection system is located;

- containers where the radiation control system is located.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that while the previous strikes had not caused a nuclear emergency yet, they were an ongoing threat to nuclear safety.

The radiation level in this area remains normal.

Members of the mission saw Russian military trucks on the first floor of the engine rooms of the first and second power units, as well as under the overpasses that connect the reactors. The IAEA also recorded damage to the road surface, walls, and windows of various buildings.

The IAEA noted that security at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is ensured by personnel, but the presence of military personnel, equipment, and representatives of Rosatom creates pressure on them and they are in "difficult circumstances". Therefore, the IAEA recommends that all people and equipment that "may affect the safety of the plant" be removed from the nuclear power plant. After all, constant stress "increases the factor of human error", which can lead to a nuclear threat.

Also, the station staff informed the IAEA mission that they regularly undergo emergency training, but the training emergency center on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was occupied by the Russian military, and an alternative center was created for the staff, but it does not meet the necessary requirements, because it does not have an independent source of power and ventilation, as well as uninterrupted access to communication and the Internet. The IAEA recommends that this entire emergency response system be reinstated at the station.